


You're so VAIN!

by OhMyNanase



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe - Office, Background Relationships, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, I am giving Gon the father he deserves, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:00:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29186712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhMyNanase/pseuds/OhMyNanase
Summary: It was at that moment when Leorio understood that something in Kurapika’s reaction wasn’t right. Had he missed something in their conversation? A fugitive clue, an unexpected twist, or an unconventional reality? Perhaps, he had. “Hey, Kura,” Leorio gulped. “What is it? What’s wrong?”“Did you ask me out just because you thought I was a woman?”Leorio blinked as if he had been abruptly awakened from a nightmare, when in fact he was in front of Kurapika with a question he didn't know how to answer. No, perhaps the answer was clear and evident in those pleading eyes where Leorio saw his dreams crumble. And it hit him: the laughing, the stares, the gossip, all the finger-pointing going on around them. Leorio ran over the events of the past few weeks in his head and began to question how he didn't see it coming. It was his turn to take a step back, and a disgruntled grimace wrinkled his face. Suddenly, Ging’s stupid words made sense.“A-are you a dude?!”
Relationships: Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 100
Kudos: 80





	1. My Muse

**Author's Note:**

> Come and talk Leopika to me :D  
> Instagram: Lenpepper  
> Twitter: Ohmymackerel
> 
> My Kurapika Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CDgTaptRA8kcsZWRCDLBW?si=wHf-CYoATLuVFxnz7WYy-g

THE NEW GIRL was A GODDESS, descended straight From The Heavens Above! Well, at least that's what Leorio Paladiknight thought at first. This blond angel of great beauty (as he calls her in secret) —with her delicate figure and pink lips— could have the world at her feet but the insecurity portrayed within her gray stormy eyes was enough to leave him wondering. They met that November morning, right when Pariston’s office door flung open and he almost choked on his coffee. _Fuck._ His computer screen wasn’t even on! 

As soon as his heart managed to calm down, Leorio turned back on his chair and pretended to rearrange some papers on his desk as casually as possible. He couldn’t risk getting a write-up for daydreaming on the job, especially when working for YorkShin's highest-ranked advertising house —GreedStyle— was synonymous with prestige and absolute recognition from every advertising house around the world. Leorio tried to ignore the sound of approaching footsteps behind his back and urged his body not to react, but in the end, he couldn’t help but peek over his shoulder.

“I assume you will still need to give your two-week notice at your current place of employment before we get to see you around,” said Pariston Hill, Co-founder, and CEO of GreedStyle, as he walked next to the accounting manager and someone else he hadn’t seen before. “But, if you are willing to take the risk, I would be more than pleased to set your start date for the following week.”

“I appreciate your flexibility and willingness to work with me on this,” a soft voice said, almost timidly. "Thank you for this opportunity, I look forward to joining the team."

Her voice was like something out of a dream, like an echo from fairyland; soft and warm. It entered Leorio’s soul through his ears, encouraging him to turn around completely. There he saw her for the first time: his muse. 

“I'd love to show you around, especially our department and what will be your future desk.” Senritsu, a short woman with a round face and long hair announced as she stood on the other side of the blond. “Will you join me?”

“Of course,” Leorio’s muse replied with a smile already framing her lips, she then turned to Pariston and extended her hand for a shake. “It was a pleasure meeting with you today, Mr. Hill.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Kurta.” 

_Kurta_ , huh?

They shook hands in a gesture that caught Leorio off-guard (who gave Pariston the right to shake hands with such a beautiful girl?!). When Pariston returned to his office, the blond and Senritsu exchanged a few words before starting to walk away. Just then, Leorio arched his eyebrows as he heard the guy in the cubicle next to him getting up. He witnessed how his colleague gave a conspiratorial look to the others who were both grinning wildly at his thought process. The murmurs of those who sat behind Leorio joined the air; no one Kurta passed by could take their eyes from her. Oh no. There was no way in hell Leorio would allow anyone to hit on Kurta before _HE_ did. He knew his moment had come, this was his only chance to stand out!

Leorio rose from his chair abruptly and knocked the coffee mug off his desk. It clashed and crashed against the floor, shattering into a million pieces while splashing its hot contents onto his lace-up boots. “What the―!” Leorio exclaimed, backing a step as he shot his hands up in the air in mere surprise. Such was the commotion from his part that the entire office fell quiet. The typing, the chattering, the stacking; it all ceased. It was awkward and Leorio could do nothing but curse his luck.

“Go get a mop and clean up your mess, Paladiknight." The obnoxious voice of Pariston Hill came out of nowhere. Leorio freaked out and found his boss in his well-tailored business suit standing by his side. Oh, he wanted more than anything to knock that mocking smile out of Pariston’s face. "I hope that your mopping skills are better than your editing.” 

“Yes sir! I'll clean it up right away, sir!” Leorio straightened up and shrieked, more out of shock than anything else. He knelt on his hands and knees and started picking up the pieces of shattered ceramic off the floor, dropping them directly into his wastebasket. He cursed under his breath as his boss walked away, shifting his entire attention back to the dark brown stain spreading over his sock. Leorio mourned the loss of his brand new captain boots and sighed. There they went, $200 down the drain.

He was so lost within his thoughts that he didn’t even notice when someone knelt right beside him. “Here, let me give you a hand,” Kurta said, but Leorio nearly had a heart attack when he realized just how close they were now. There she was, in those black slacks and her blue buttoned-up shirt; his goddess! Leorio felt his mouth hit the ground, speechless as she picked the mug’s broken handle from the floor and smiled his way. “I think you should consider doing something about your wet shoe.”

"I think I should consider many things..." like his religion, for example, because it was until then that he finally believed in angels and all that crap.

Leorio took the broken piece from her and awkwardly began scratching the back of his neck. They both stood up, and Leorio immediately stretched his hand out at her. "Thank you, I’m Leorio Paladiknight, Digital Media Coordinator for GreedStyle. N-nice to meet you!”

“Kurapika Kurta, nice to meet you, too.” Kurapika accepted his hand in a gesture that took too long for the rest of the world, but not long enough for the two of them. Senritsu came back to the scene just in time to raise one eyebrow at the tallest of the pair. “I will be working in the accounting department starting next month.”

He couldn’t believe it! How in the world was it possible that someone as cute and perfect as his muse was involved in the most boring and tasteless department in the entire company?! Heck, Kurapika was so beautiful that she could be on a Vogue's cover if she wanted to!

“Oh, accounting? I thought you were hired as the model for Pariston’s new campaign,“ Leorio blurted out before he could think of what he was saying and Kurapika blinked, clearly not expecting that assumption. A pretty red blush crawled his way across Leorio’s face. “I-I’m not saying that you look dumb or anything! I mean, models are not even dumb either! W-what I meant was—! Oh, crap!” Leorio ended up covering his mouth with both hands, it was time to stop digging his own grave.

His muse chuckled, shaking her head. There was something about Leorio that amused her, but she'd be hard-pressed to know exactly what it was. “I have to admit that modeling is not my thing and I'm terrible at it. I am not an artistic person.” The blond took a brief look around the room, analyzing the monitors of various artists working on their respective projects. “Although... I’ve always been interested in photography.”

“I can teach you everything I know!” Leorio wasted no time and held her hands in his. “You can even use my Sony Alpha!”

Kurapika looked surprised, then a little embarrassed. Her charcoal eyes lowered to their interlocked fingers and Leorio gently moved her thumb to rub over her skin. The blond held her breath for a moment. “Are you sure? I wouldn't want to bother you with my trivialities.” 

“You are not a bother at all! I’m sure that with those pretty eyes you are going to take the best pictures!”

Kurapika fought against the heat that assaulted her cheeks and she wanted to say something (although the blond still hadn't finished processing Leorio's bad-concealed compliment) but Senritsu's voice came first as a reminder of where they were. “It's really kind of you to take the time to make Kurta feel welcomed but we need to get going. I’m sure you’ll see each other around the building pretty soon.”

Leorio flinched with guilt and scratched his cheek sheepishly. “O-oh, right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to hold you two up.”

“That’s alright,” Senritsu spoke up again before looking back at Kurapika. “Shall we, Kurta?”

“Yes, of course. Let’s go.” Kurapika replied, though her mouth turned up in a half-helpless smile once her eyes fell back on him. "I’m looking forward to working with you, Paladiknight."

“Yeah…" Leorio whispered as he turned with the motion, following them both with his eyes as they stepped out of the digital media department. He sighed in annoyance; his ruined boots now an unamused distraction in the back of his head. How the heck was he supposed to get closer to Kurapika if they weren’t even going to be sharing the same floor?! His muse was stuck working with numbers, doing whatever accountants are supposed to do on their daily basis, and wasting her precious breath in the monotony of the accounting department. What a shame.

Those sitting close by chuckled, their eyes riveted on him and gleaming with curiosity. Leorio raised an eyebrow in utter mistrust. “Looks like PaladiKnight has been captivated by Kurta’s charms.” 

One of them laughed out loud, elbowing another one with a joking grin.

“How funny. We weren’t aware of that particular taste of yours.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Leorio growled, eying everybody through his small sunglasses. "Are y’all blind or just plain stupid?! Kurta’s gorgeous! She’s my muse and y'all better stay away from her.”

Several designers burst out laughing, while part of the female staff resorted to sigh and roll their eyes. “If she inspires you that much, why don’t you ask her out?” a man sitting in the back proposed out loud. “Hurry up, dude, or she’ll get away.”

"Don't you think I already know that? But just watch, she’ll be mine before any of you losers decide to get on my way!” 

“Oh no, there’s no need to worry about us,” another colleague joined the conversation, reaching out and leaning against Leorio's cubicle. “C’mon, we aren’t your enemies. We would love to see how you two end up together, right guys?”

Huh?! What the hell were they all laughing at? Leorio was just beginning to realize that there was something he was missing out on. He was pissed but tried not to read too much into it. Instead, he found all the motivation he needed in their unscrupulous mockery. 

“Go on, keep laughing! Let’s see who's bitter once I get her to be mine!” and just like that, Leorio stepped out of the digital media department, making his way towards accounting, his soaked shoe dripping coffee onto the carpet on his way down.

AND THERE HE was, holding his breath and feeling how his nervousness increased the closer he got to the accounting department. He clutched at his chest and took a deep gulp of air; regret began sinking within him. Leorio’s mouth is set in an unhappy line as he began to second guess himself. This was probably his second time on the third floor ever since he started working at GreedStyle, a designer had nothing to do in there and he felt completely out of place. What was he even thinking? It was ridiculous, and certainly, Kurapika would think he was some sort of stalker (a creep!) if she spotted him around. Leorio’s chin jutted up. Nope. He was not going to ruin his only chance to prove his point to a bunch of idiots.

“Paladiknight?” Kurapika’s voice called him from behind and Leorio’s shoulders straightened with a jolt. Oh, great. Just his luck.

“O-oh, hey!” Leorio turned on his heels and awkwardly met with the genuine curiosity beneath those gray eyes. “Kurta, how are you doing? I-I thought you'd be home by now.”

“We’re almost done, Melody just asked me to get some copies done before I left,” Kurapika glanced down at the paperwork she held against her chest —one a little too flat in Leorio’s opinion, but he was more than willing to make an exception if that meant to spend the rest of his days next to such beauty. — and based on the way her lips parted, you could tell she was shyly holding off a soft smile. 

“You aren’t working for us yet and she’s already asking you to help around?” Leorio laughed a little. “That’s a little messed up, don’t you think?”

“That’s alright, I don’t have a lot going on at home at this moment,” Kurapika’s gaze darted to the side, but it returned to Leorio after only a moment’s pause. “My life outside of work is quite boring if you ask me.”

“Oh c’mon, that can't possibly be true!” Leorio snorted, grinning widely. “I bet that you are more interesting than you give yourself credit for.”

“Says the guy with the coffee-dipped shoes. Now, that’s interesting,” the blond deadpanned before breaking out in a laugh, one that caught the whole world by surprise. Kurapika’s laughter was a perfect song, a pleasant and tinkering sound that sent an electrifying jolt down Leorio’s spine, making his glasses slip down the bridge of his nose. He flushed and tried his best to remain nonchalant, but his face kept blowing his cover.

“Ha-ha. Very funny,” Leorio chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “So, um… what do you think about this place so far? Do you like it? I mean, is working with numbers your thing?”

“I'm an analytical kind of person, numbers are my forte,” Kurapika replied, failing to notice the hesitation in Leorio’s words. 

“That’s perfect!” Leorio blurted out, cheerfully. “At least I know we won’t get overcharged if I let you check the receipts whenever you and I go out on a date!”

“Pardon?” Kurapika blinked, her eyebrows disappeared behind her blond bangs in surprise.

“I-I mean…!” Leorio’s heart thundered against his chest and coughs once, twice, when he accidentally choked on his spit. Seriously, what was he even thinking? It appeared to him that his brain wouldn’t exactly function the right way whenever he was in front of Kurapika’s beauty. “I-it would be great to avoid getting scammed! Don’t you think?!” his tongue went dry, and it took him two attempts to keep talking. “Those waiters… I… umm… It sucks when they just… you know… take your money and—”

Kurapika interrupts. “Paladiknight?”

“Y-yeah?”

“We can pretend that the last two minutes never happened and start over," Kurapika offered with a sincere and soft smile. "Would you like that?”

As they stood there in the middle of the hall, a sense of shock and embarrassment blossomed from Leorio’s gut. He was making a fool of himself in front of Kurapika Kurta and those from the accounting apartment that had already noticed them both. This was ridiculous. This wasn’t him. Leorio took a deep breath in. If only he could just get through it without embarrassing himself further.

“Look, I just…” he paused. “Do you wanna go out for dinner or something?"

Kurapika opened her mouth, but after some hesitation, she shut it again. Balancing her weight from one leg to the other thinking about it, Kurapika felt her cheeks flood with color. “As in… tonight?”

“O-Or tomorrow, whenever you've got a couple of hours to spare,” Leorio said as gently as he can manage past the panic still clogging his chest. “I know this might be too sudden, but I really want to get to know you better. What do you say?”

“Are you okay with—?” Kurapika started, then stopped herself to shake her head. A pause stretched between them until the blond nodded and said: “Alright.” She said in a whisper, clearing her throat before repeating it a little louder. “Alright, I’d love that. How about we go out on Friday, after my first week of work?”

“Perfect! You won't regret it, I promise!” Leorio snapped his fingers, pointing at Kurapika with them. “Oh, hold on.” he grabbed his cell phone out of his suit pocket. “Here, let's exchange numbers. There's a restaurant nearby that you're going to love. It's discreet and their service is amazing, or if you prefer, we can go to a bar.”

“A restaurant would be fine.”

As the exchange occurred, Leorio noticed how Kurapika's fingers were trembling slightly as she typed in the numbers on her cellphone. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in mere confusion. Huh? Why would Kurapika be nervous? Shoving that thought far, Leorio chose to focus on the numbers he was saving on his phone and his most recent victory.

“Well, I’ll… see you around,” Leorio said as he began walking backwards towards the elevator that brought him down there. “Don’t hesitate to text me if you need anything, alright?”

“Alright.” Kurapika smiled, unaccountably shy. “I’ll see you soon, Leorio.”

“You got it!” Leorio turned on his heel and waved his goodbye with one hand in the air. To hear her say his name is even better than finally speaking hers, and Leorio wanted to hear it coming from her lips over and over again.

  
  


“SAY DAD, SO... won’t be home until late,” the voice of a kid could be heard through the speaker of the receiver. Inside that messy office, a man with untrimmed facial hair and black spiky hair sat on his cluttered desk and stared out the window while his son on the phone continued. “Could you stay with me on the phone a bit longer? Today was my first day of school and Mom wouldn’t miss work to celebrate it with me. I thought— I… I don’t know. Would you mind celebrating it with me?”

“Oh?” the man straightened up in his seat and glanced at the clock on the wall behind him before smirking. “Of course, give me a second.” He stood up, ran to the door of his office, and yelled: “Hey, _Paladino!_ C'mere!”

“Y-yes ?!” Leorio leaned on the door seconds after, chest heaving for breath. What the fuck was wrong with Ging?! Couldn't he have the decency to call him by his actual last name for once?

“I have a family emergency and need to leave for the day. You need to cover me and submit all this paperwork for me by the end of the day,” Ging patted him on the shoulder and laughed, quite aware that he was asking for too much. “I can count on you, right?”

“What the—! Are you crazy, man?!” the tallest of the two glanced back at the huge stack of folders and papers sitting on the desk and gulped. Leorio had always known that Ging was the worst procrastinator in the building. (Heck! he still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of his lazy-ass uncle being so vital to GreedStyle), getting stuck with these horrendous piles of unfinished work was enough to make him shiver. “You gotta be kidding me! I was about to clock out for the day!”

(And on his way to the accounting department to catch a glimpse of his muse on her first day at work, but Ging didn’t have to know that.)

“C’mon, do it for the kid,” Ging flashed a mischievous smile, resting his hand next to his desk phone before adding: “Hey Gon, say hi!”

“Hi, Leorio!” Gon's cheerful voice echoed through the receiver.

“Hey, kiddo!” Leorio’s demeanor changed in an instant, he got closer to the phone and grinned widely. “How's the new school treating ya? Do I have to beat someone up again?”

“Again? But you've never done that before!” Gon laughed and soon Leorio was laughing as well. “Dad and I are planning to celebrate my first day together while mom is out.”

“I can see that. Your dad is using it as an excuse to drop his month's worth of unfinished work on my lap!” Leorio scoffed. “I bet that if I look through those massive piles of nonsense, I would be able to find something dated older than the day you were born.”

Gon choked on a laugh and Ging frowned in response.

“Go on, keep making fun of me and the ways I keep this company afloat, I don’t give a crap,” Ging grumbled, rubbing his face roughly. “Guess I’ll forget about lightening up your workload on Friday so you can’t leave early to that silly date of yours.”

“H-Hey, hey! Come on, man. There’s no need to be that cruel with your favorite (and only) nephew,” Leorio walked behind Ging just to start massaging his shoulders. “Go, don't miss this chance to enjoy some time alone with your son! I’ll take care of this!”

"You sure? "Ging rolled his eyes and pulled his way out of Leorio's grip, getting his coat from the coathanger. "Do we have a deal, or what?”

“More than a deal, you have my word!” Leorio thumped his right fist against his chest and flashed a confident smile, though his fatigue was clear on his face. That was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! This is the third version I have written of this story. I wrote the 1st version around three years ago, got to page 60, and decided to give it a try and rewrite it with a role-playing friend I had at the time. We finished the 2nd version and the ending wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. Now I decided to rewrite it all over again while using the first and the second version as a guideline to finally give the denouement this story deserves. With that being said, I want to give credit to Akia since this version is somehow based on what we wrote together last year, however, the entire work has been reworked and rewritten (of course) to bring out this final piece. Hope you guys enjoy this fic and see you all soon!


	2. Coffee For Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and talk Leopika to me :D  
> Instagram: Lenpepper  
> Twitter: Ohmymackerel
> 
> My Kurapika Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CDgTaptRA8kcsZWRCDLBW?si=wHf-CYoATLuVFxnz7WYy-g

LEORIO KNEW HE needed to focus and be productive, and yet another look at his phone was a distraction then. The sun was starting to go down, and it didn't look like he would be leaving anytime soon. He sighed. 

Keeping an eye over his shoulder at all times, Leorio kept himself hunched over Ging’s computer and raided the web looking for any information regarding Kurapika. He couldn’t find her on Google, which completely ruled out the possibility of dealing with a serial killer (Hey, you never know!), neither on Facebook or Twitter; the only thing that popped out of his intense search was a semi-abandoned Instagram account under the username **Kurapika404** which had some panoramic photos, night skies, and rustic fields.

Although he still didn't know her that well, somehow Leorio had already anticipated that his muse would be just as reserved on social media as she was in real life. Smiling, Leorio had to fight back the urge to follow her on the spot (he'd look like a stalker, like a desperate stalker). Before he could lock his phone to try and finish Ging’s stupid work on a semi-decent time, a text message popped on the top of his screen.

**Kurapika K. [06:13 pm]  
** Are you still here or did you leave already?

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:14 pm]  
** Still here. My boss dumped a bunch of work on me before leaving… 

**Kurapika K. [06:14 pm]  
** _< attached image> _

**Kurapika K. [06:15 pm]  
** The vending machine on our floor stole my tea and now I need your help to throw it out the window.

And there it was, a selfie of her cute but frowning face as she stood with her back to an old vending machine. Her drink (a ready-to-drink coffee bottle) could be seen in the background, stuck between the glass and the coil inside the machine. Leorio laughed but didn’t even hesitate to save the picture on his phone.

**Leorio P. [06:17 pm]  
** You got it! But there’s a minor detail you are missing! We gotta get rid of the body. 

Pleased with his reply, Leorio smiled to himself proudly. After all, he was quite aware that humor was the key to success in dating.

**Kurapika K. [06:18 pm]  
** You're right.

**Kurapika K. [06:18 pm]  
** We need a shovel.

Leorio laughed. He had not been expecting that answer, after all.

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:19 pm]  
** I can’t believe none of your accounting folks warned you not to use that machine.

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:19 pm]  
** Nobody uses it! In all the years I've been working with this company, that damn machine hasn't even bleeped once!

  
  


**Kurapika K. [06:20 pm]  
** My colleagues don't talk much…

**Kurapika K. [06:21 pm]  
** And this was the only vending machine I could find on my way out.

**Leorio Paladiknight [06:22pm]  
** Not to be rude, but your colleagues are quite petty. 

**Kurapika K. [06:24 pm]  
** Will you be stuck in here for a while? You made it sound like you still have work to go through.

**Leorio Paladiknight [06:24 pm]  
** TOO. MUCH. WORK. 

**Leorio Paladiknight [06:24 pm]  
** I’ll probably be trapped here for a whole damn week!!!!!

**Leorio Paladiknight [06:25 pm]  
** Ging KNEW I wouldn't say 'no' to him because we’re family!

**Leorio Paladiknight [06:25pm]**  
 ****That stupid shrimp...

**Kurapika K. [06:27 pm]  
** Oh? Are you related to Mr. Freecss?

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:27 pm]  
** Not exactly. I have known him ever since I was a child. 

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:28 pm]  
** He took me in and made me everything I am today.

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [06:28 pm]**  
That’s how our relationship started.

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:28 pm]  
** A FRATERNAL RELATIONSHIP, OF COURSE! LIKE A FATHER AND A SON! NOTHING ELSE!

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:28 pm]  
** NOTHING WEIRD!

**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:28 pm]  
** WE ARE NORMAL PEOPLE!! I PROMISE!!!!

Leorio let out a long sigh of despair. There he was: making a fool of himself once more. He would rather clear up things now than allow any weird misunderstanding to take his muse away from his arms.

**Kurapika K. [06:29 pm]  
** I see. Mr. Freecss is too short to share a blood bond with you, anyway.

**Kurapika K. [06:33 pm]  
** Leorio, do you like your coffee black or white?

  
  


**Leorio PaladiKnight [06:34 pm]  
** Black… why?

**Kurapika K. [06:34 pm]  
** Ok, allow me a minute.

Leorio blinked his confusion away as he realized that Kurapika’s response wasn’t coming his way. Maybe Kurapika had been on her way out of the office as they were texting and now, she was trying to catch her bus back home. Does Kurapika have a car? Maybe she was driving now, or maybe…

Leorio heard three soft knocks at the door. When he turned around, he was shocked to find Kurapika standing under the door frame holding two steaming coffee cups together with a shy but honest smile framing her lips. A pretty red blush crawled across her face. “May I come in?”

“Kurta!” Leorio got to his feet so fast he accidentally knocked his chair over. It clattered to the floor before he could even catch it. It was then that he noticed the two steaming cups in the blonde’s hands. His heart melted a little bit. “Of course, come in, come in!”

“Pardon my intrusion," Kurapika excused herself while walking in, she took a brief look around before meeting Leorio’s gaze. Carefully, she handed him a cup of coffee and continued: “but when you mentioned that you were going to be stuck in here for a while, I thought that maybe a cup of coffee would help you through.”

“A-ah, thanks!" Leorio took the cup of coffee from her hand and scratched the back of his head, nervously. "Thank you for coming by, too. It is nice to finally see you again, Kurta.”

Kurapika took a seat after Leorio pulled a chair for her. She drummed her long fingers on the mug, thinking for a moment. “Kurapika,” timidly, she corrected him. “You can… call me Kurapika if you like.”

Ah, there it finally was. The blessed privilege of calling her by her name. Leorio bit a smile back as he coughed trying to cover it up, luckily Kurapika's charcoal gray eyes had already started veering around the office once more in an attempt to have the blush dusting her cheeks. Leorio took a seat next to his muse. "So, Kurapika..." he spoke soft and low, and somehow her name sounded more intimate than a kiss. “Do you live by yourself, with your parents or with... I don’t know... _a special_ _someone_?”

“Oh no. I don't… ”Kurapika tried to clear her throat, but couldn't hide the urgency behind her voice. “I only go home to my cat. My family lives in the Lukso Province and… there’s no special someone.”

She sheepishly began to fiddle with the earring dangling beneath her right ear, then looked right into his eyes and asked: “How about you?”

“Why? How much are you going to pay me?” Leorio felt his mouth instantly pressing into a tight, unhappy line. That sounded much better inside his head. “I mean, my immediate family resides in Meteor City. I have nobody around, well… only Ging and his son.”

“Oh,” Kurapika said and chuckled softly. “I bet it’s interesting to work with someone you’ve known forever in a new light.”

“Not really,” Leorio muttered, eying the horrendous piles of paperwork still mounting up around Ging’s desk. He took a sip of his coffee and then sighed. “This is not exactly the way I was expecting to spend my Monday night.”

“Is that so?” Their eyes met and Kurapika smiled. Her left hand (the one that rested on her) reacted by getting up and meeting with Leorio's under the desk. “I wasn’t expecting this turn of events either, but... I am glad I got to see you tonight.”

Oh shit, Kurapika was holding his hand! They were touching! Leorio’s heart rate increased significantly but he still managed to play along. Sliding his fingers around Kurapika’s, he softly pulled her closer. Alone, in the dim light of the night, Leorio allowed himself to count the long blond lashes that swept her cheek. “You are right, me… too.”

  
  


LEORIO WAS NOT sure how the week flew by so fast, but almost all the days were crossed out by black marker pen on his calendar and Friday had finally arrived. It had been a tough day; while his workload wasn't too heavy, Leorio found it hard to keep his mind focused. He caught himself glancing at the clock on the wall for the millionth time, wondering how there was still over an hour left before he could finally meet with his muse again. He was so ahead of his tasks for the day that the idea of staying on overtime was statistically impossible.

He had spent the whole week texting back and forth with Kurapika, video chatting, and sharing stories late into the night. Also, their habits changed; Leorio would now start his days an hour earlier just to match Kurapika’s schedule, while Kurapika would take her breaks around the same time Leorio usually did by _mere chance_. Through the week, Leorio noticed how everybody would always turn their heads his way as he walked down the hallway next to his muse. Although it seemed strange to him at first, it seemed stranger how Kurapika’s shoulders would always tense up and her smile would tighten just a little around those lingering stares.

Leorio could tell something big was happening before his eyes, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was. The environment in the office changed, became more strained. He could hear his co-workers talking, laughing as if he had become some sort of walking joke. Nothing had infuriated him this much since the time he got excluded from his own birthday cake. What was all this gossiping about, anyway?! There had to be something more there. Something that Leorio was blindly missing.

"Hey, _Paladino,_ " the door to his uncle’s office opened, and Leorio looked up to find that Ging was paying him an unexpected visit. “I want you to help me install _Grams_ on my phone _.”_

“Your grandmother?” Leorio blinked. “Is she still alive?!”

Ging scoffed and threw his cell phone straight to Leorio’s face, hitting him right on the nose. Leorio winced, however, he still managed to catch the device on his hands in mid-air.

“What the hell, man?!”

“Don’t bring poor old mawmaw’s memory into this, you moron!” Ging crossed his arms as he laid his back against one of the cubicle’s light walls. “I want that fancy little app Gon and his friend keep talking about: The Grams.” 

“Do you mean _Instagram?”_ Leorio looked back at Ging’s phone and sighed. Of course, his uncle had never been good with technology (including cameras or computers); he's incapable of making sense of a wireless network and is much less able to figure out how to still make every software do their thing to get his work done. “Do you want me to create an Instagram account for you? Why would you want that?”

“Is that what it's called?” but instead of digging deeper into that realization, Ging folded his arms across his chest and continued. “I want it because Gon is on it and it gives me another way to get in touch with him, you know, just in case Keiko goes crazy and decides to block my number from his phone.”

“It’s good to know that the divorce between you two is going so well,” Leorio laughed, but when Ging rammed his elbow against his stomach, he instinctively understood it was not the proper time to joke around. He coughed once, twice. “A-alright, alright! I’ll make your account.” 

Looking through the AppStore, Leorio managed to download the app into Ging’s old cellphone and tossed the device into his owner’s hands once the installation was completed. “There, you can handle it from here. Fill in your profile information and pick a good username. Something easy to remember, I suppose. That’s how everybody will be able to find you in there,” Leorio said, then muttered: “Not that anybody would ever want to.”

“I already have a great nickname in mind, one that will resonate with the youth of today! Gon will think I'm pretty cool,” Ging had a wide smile on his face while he filled in the required information to finish it up. It was right after when an idea crossed Ging’s mind and the man looked up and smiled mischievously at Leorio. “Come on, let’s take a picture together! Right now!”

”What?! There’s no way you’ll have a picture of me on your lousy Instagram account!”

“Oh, come on!” Ging hurried, stopping Leorio's intentions to leave his cubicle. Even when Ging was way shorter than Leorio, he managed to wrap his arm around Leorio’s neck and pulled him down in such a way that their cheeks ended up pressed against each other. “You are quite a good-looking guy. I am sure you’ll help me get some followers with that stupid face of yours! Say _‘GING’!_ ”

“Dude, wait!” but it was too late. The camera's flash blinded him for a moment, a crack of light in such a dark office— but Leorio regained his sight back rather quickly. Oh, hell no! There was no way he would allow his boss to upload a photo of him to his personal Instagram. That would be embarrassing! Complete humiliation. 

Well, at least Ging was too archaic to know how to upload something on his own.

“Oh look, it’s up! I uploaded my first picture!” Ging's celebration hit Leorio like a stone on the head, leaving him speechless once he saw the older man grinning proudly at his cell phone’s screen. “And with the username I wanted! I can't believe no other father has thought of this name before I did, this is my lucky day!”

“And what kind of _name_ are we talking about?” Leorio adjusted his jacket, straightened up, and combed his hair back with his fingers. “Why didn't you use your real name? How else do you expect Gon to find you in there?”

"Why should I use my real name? The last thing I want is for Keiko to recognize me while checking Gon’s phone (because you know she will!) and block me out.” 

“You don't think you're being a little too paranoid?” Leorio murmured. "What username did you claim on Instagram, anyway?" Yet, Ging's cell phone pinged announcing a new notification before the older man could even answer. Leorio’s eyebrows rose skeptically. Had Ging gotten his first follower already? To that, several more _pings_ followed. “What the hell, man?!”

Ging was already squinting his eyes at his cell phone screen, weirded out by the first wave of followers with even weirder names that were frantically filling his notification box with mere nonsense. After a moment or two, he just shrugged and switched his device into silent mode.

“Since you have been a good nephew, you can leave early. Whatever you have pending, I'll grapple it to someone else,” Ging patted him on the shoulder. “Why don't you go get Kurapika now? Where are you two going for dinner?”

Leorio swallowed down his excitement, though a pleasing smile curled on his lips. “Well, I made a reservation at _The Heaven’s Arena_ which has been highly praised on social media and everywhere else lately,” he licked his lips, somehow nervous. Dammit, he really hopes that the restaurant is as good as everybody makes it sound. Tonight had to be perfect. Tonight was his chance.

Ging nodded in agreement, although he had no idea which restaurant Leorio was talking about. “Well, I must admit I always had my suspicions about you, but I am glad you decided to ignore what society says you should do and go straight to what makes you happy. I am proud of you, son.”

“Proud? Wha—?” Leorio twitched, almost choking on his own words. “Why?! Where the hell is that coming from?!”

“To be honest, you've never had any luck with women,” Ging placed an arm around Leorio’s shoulder just to pull him closer before continuing: “It was to be expected of you to give up at some point.”

“H-hey, asshole!” Leorio elbowed him, pressing hard against his side. “This is not about being unlucky or whatever! The girls I tried dating before had trust issues of one type or another, that’s not my fault! Besides, they were busy most of the time!”

“They were busy? Every single one of them? Is that the excuse they all used to dump your sorry ass?” Ging's sly smile spread his lips while rubbing his side. “Well, I'm glad that you found Kurapica and decided to finally be honest with yourself. Enjoy your dinner!”

“Geez! What the _fuck_ are you talking about, man?!” Leorio rubbed his forehead, exasperated. Ging whistled on his way out, leaving Leorio's cubicle in search of his office. Leorio went after him. “Hey, wait! What does Kurapika have to do with all this?!”

“Let’s just say that, for your own sanity, I hope you get laid tonight. You really need it!” 

“Old man!” Leorio's cheeks flushed so violently that the tips of her ears turned red. Ging burst out laughing while the curious glances of everybody in the office landed directly over Leorio’s shoulders. He was so embarrassed that he rolled back into his cubicle and played dead on his cluttered desk.

TWO FLOORS DOWN (in the accounting department), Kurapika was arranging the color-coded folders inside the filing cabinet next to her working space. Although she wore her usual attire —black pantsuit and white button-down shirt—, there was something unusual and extremely captivating within her clear eyes that afternoon. Maybe it was time, being so close to the weekend she could almost touch it or... maybe it was because she was looking forward to the date she had that evening. Her first date in years with a man she truly liked.

It was then (right before the clock stroked four) when Leorio found Kurapika lost in her thoughts, with her back to the door. Leorio was not going to lie, he had been hoping to finally be able to see her out of that boring business suit. Apparently, this wasn’t his lucky day. Kurapika didn’t wear makeup, did her hair nor wear any type of jewelry (except that ruby that occasionally hung from her ear) to highlight her beauty. Even when she didn’t fit into the type of girl Leorio usually falls for, there was something about her that Leorio just couldn't ignore. 

Feminine or not, Kurapika fascinated him in every possible way!

“Hey, Kurapika!” Making his way through the lonely department, Leorio extended a hand in the air as an indescribable warmth crossed his chest once he noticed the gleam in Kurapika's eyes when she turned on her heels and their gazes met. “Well, here I am. What are your other two wishes?”

Kurapika pressed the back of her hand lightly to her lips, face to face with her most anticipated visitor. "I see Mr. Freecss kept his promise this time," she glanced at the time display on her monitor, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Oh my, you got here quite early. What happened?”

“What can I say? Being tech-savvy is my secret weapon,” he smiled, slowly at first and then widely once he caught Kurapika doing the same. “So, do you think I’ll be able to get you out of this boring office half an hour earlier than expected?”

  
“I don’t see why not,” Kurapika stipulated with a thumb against her chin. “I'm done with my tasks for the week and I was just entertaining myself by organizing someone else's disasters. Give me a minute, I’ll go and ask for Miss Melody’s permission to leave now.”

“Excellent! I'll wait for you at the hall, then!” Leorio pointed down at the door he had just entered through and left, barely resisted the urge to leap into the air in triumph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I was... supposed to wait until Wednesday to post this chapter but my Leopika feels are strong tonight and couldn't wait any longer, lol. I hope you are all enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying working this through. Let's just say... gods, I can't wait to share more :D  
> Until next time!


	3. Unexpected Twist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and talk Leopika to me :D  
> Instagram: Lenpepper  
> Twitter: Ohmymackerel
> 
> My Kurapika Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CDgTaptRA8kcsZWRCDLBW?si=wHf-CYoATLuVFxnz7WYy-g

THE RESTAURANT WAS quite impressive—with a long list of wine, beer, and cocktails, its huge windows, and luxurious chandeliers. They were warmly greeted and quickly seated and, as they reviewed the menu, Kurapika began to wonder whether or not she was underdressed for the occasion. The personnel were very friendly and helpful, answering questions about their dishes and one of them always made sure Kurapika’s glass was never empty.

"This is... gods. I’m speechless," Kurapika admitted once the server that took their order left for the kitchen and they were finally by themselves at the table. “It’s been a while since I last visited a place as luxurious as this one and I feel that I stand out for the simplicity of my attire, somehow."

“You’re kidding, right?” Leorio quickly objected. “You are far more than just someone who walks on the earth. No matter where you go, you’ll always stand out—you’re a real beauty!” He winced. That had sounded a lot less pathetic in his head. Rubbing the back of his neck, Leorio took a big sip of his wine just to keep himself busy.

The blond had a soft smile at that; an unmistakable blush graced her cheeks. Kurapika eased back in the chair and her shoulders finally relaxed. “You only say that to be nice.”

Maybe it was because he had not expected it, or maybe because the blond's smile did not reach her eyes but it was until then that Leorio noticed that something within Kurapika didn’t make sense. To some extent he considered the blond to be just too humble, not quite sure if these insecurities she hasn't outgrown came from previous relationships, or if it was the way she avoided his gaze whenever she got nervous, but there's something about Kurapika that he couldn’t ignore.

Leorio chuckled; He gently tugged on Kurapika's hand, bringing it to her lips for a soft kiss that immediately accentuated the blush that still dusted her cheeks. “Kura—” he paused once she visibly flinched. “Ah, are you okay?”

There was this sudden change in Kurapika's behavior; she seemed to be very alert of their surroundings, of the people staring at them from the other tables. Her head was lowered, but at no point did she reject his hand or refuse to intertwine their fingers together. “W-what are you doing? We aren’t here by ourselves, people are staring.”

“So what? There’s nothing wrong with us or what we’re doing right now,” Leorio didn't dare look her in the face, embarrassed (but not regretful) of his own audacity. “I don't want to wait until the end of our date to make my intentions clear with you, Kura.”

Kurapika could feel the tips of her ears burn and, when their eyes met again, Leorio couldn't name the emotions he found swirling in the depths of those gray eyes. One thing for sure, Kurapika was moved.

“I like to think that we wouldn’t be sitting at this table if we didn't share the same intentions,” Kurapika answered softly. Her grip tightened around Leorio's hand as she leaned slightly forward on the table. If only this _stupid_ table between their bodies could just disappear. “Thank you for asking me out, Leorio.”

“Hey, no problem. I’m just glad that you gave me a shot, you know?” Leorio admitted with a broad and honest smile. “It’s kinda funny to see you out of the office, having a nice glass of wine with me and loosening up a little.”

"You're right, it will take time to get used to this," Kurapika licked her lips slowly, biting the bottom to control her smile. “Yet you're still wearing a tie.”

Leorio laughed out loud. “And you’re wearing that same old black suit, as always. I must admit that I had my hopes up for tonight. I was kinda hoping to find you wearing something different for our date. Something more _Kurapika_.”

She moved her index finger along the rim of her glass, a mysterious look in those smokey gray eyes. 

Leorio doubted his choice of words for a moment but nothing prepared him for what his muse said next.

“I agree, seeing you in casual clothes is something that would have pleased me as well,” Kurapika narrowed her eyes, flashing what she hoped was an enticing smirk. “I rent a place on Toriko’s street. If you like, we could take this to my place after dinner, shed a layer or two, and make ourselves more comfortable.”

Leorio's mouth moved several times, but nothing except a tiny squeak came out. Kurapika immediately fell silent, shocked at her own words. She retrieved her hands from Leorio’s grasp just to cover her mouth and a deep red blush rose from her neck to her nose and cheeks. 

"That’s—" She tried to speak, but the embarrassment was consuming her inside out. "I can't believe I said such a thing. I-I'm sorry, please don't get me wrong. I'm not usually this bold, or awkward.”

“H-hey, that’s alright! Seriously!” Leorio tried to laugh it out, lighten the mood but in reality, he was screaming on the inside. Mental images began flashing before his eyes, presenting the hidden implications behind Kurapika’s words and Leorio couldn’t stop his body from heating up. He really, really hoped (and crossed all the fingers and toes of his body he could cross) that there was some truth in Kurapika’s previous invitation because the very idea of getting _comfortable_ with his beautiful muse was something that Leorio would NEVER complain about. “You’re with me. Everything is perfectly fine, I promise!”

Everything was perfectly going straight to hell. Damn, he felt his throat drying up as his smile began to crumble, but Leorio fought to hold it in place. He needed a second to collect himself (well, maybe more than a million would be enough), but this was not the time to expose his primal needs! He needed to be a gentleman! He needed to… _fuck!_ Leorio hadn't slept with a woman in more than six months! His self-control was at its limit!

Kurapika took her hands from her face, so mortified that she couldn’t even meet him in the eye. There was something extremely adorable in the way she nervously bit her lower lip, but Leorio just couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. Those pretty full lips of hers, would they taste as sweet as they looked? Would Kurapika bite them in the same way when Leorio got a chance to get her tangled up between his sheets?

The leap his heart gave sent Leorio to his feet with the sound of his chair hitting the ground echoing behind him. Kurapika blinked in confusion by the sudden change in her date’s demeanor.

“Leorio?”

“Where’s the bathroom? I-I need to go,” Leorio had no time to react, nor did he heed to the blond's warnings as he turned on his heel intending to flee the scene. Certainly, he didn't expect to meet a waitress on her way back from the kitchen with two drinks on a tray.

How could something that started pretty well go so wrong, so fast?

It was a frontal collision: both drinks spilled directly on his white shirt, fresh from the dry cleaners. He could feel that mixture of green tea and soda going through the fabric and sliding down to his navel. Mortified, the waitress went pale when the glasses shattered next to Leorio's shoes. For a second, they both thought the waitress might faint in front of them but she began to apologize profusely, instead.

These encounters with Kurapika would end up destroying his entire wardrobe!

Kurapika left her seat with a napkin in hand, ready to help, but Leorio stopped her with a wave of his hand and disappeared to the bathroom to be alone. Just as the door closed, Kurapika asked the waitress for another drink for table thirty-two.

ONE AFTER ANOTHER, a handful of waxy paper towels piled up on the side of the sink in the men's room. Leorio looked down; no matter how much he tried to deny it, those stains spreading across his shirt weren't going to come off just by scrubbing. The water ran in the sink, filling with its echo the silence that Leorio refused to break. His mind was freshly inclined toward chaos.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the moment when the door of a bathroom stall opened, and an old man came out doubtfully from his hiding spot. Not knowing what to do now that he needed to wash his hands, the older man cleared his throat in a stupid attempt to get Leorio's attention. Leorio then slapped a hand on his face, shielding his eyes. He didn't have time for this.

“Seriously, dude? Are you blind or something?!” Leorio snapped, turning entirely to face the stranger. Then frowned. “This sink is taken! Fuck off!”

“I-I'm calling the manager!” The old man exclaimed on his way out, then left with the haste of a schoolboy playing truant, despite his age. The door fanned in and out, over and over again, until a hand stopped it to make way for someone else. 

When the bathroom door gave way to a beam of golden threads forcing its way inside, all coherent thoughts were swept out of Leorio's mind. His whole world had been abruptly shifted, turned upside down. The connection between his brain and his mouth ceased to exist, just as if it had decided to take a vacation and leave him with his reasoning stuck at the base of his throat. What was going on? What was Kurapika doing here? She was walking into the men's room with a strong sense of familiarity, it… just wasn't right. This had to be a joke! Yes, a joke! Kurapika was walking towards him and nothing, absolutely nothing, made sense!

“Sorry for keeping you waiting," Kurapika apologized as she uncapped the plastic bottle she held in her hands. The blond stopped before Leorio and he barely had a chance to react, taking a step back and pressing himself against the sink. “The restaurant was out of club soda so the waitress was nice enough to go next door and get us some.”

“K-Kurapika?!” It took Leorio a moment to find his voice, only to come out pinched. His gaze traveled from the door to Kurapika, and then back to the door. Oh, crap. “What are you doing here?! If anybody sees you here, we’ll get kicked out!”

“Why would they even do that? I just came in to help,” Kurapika set the club soda on top of the ceramic sink, getting even closer to Leorio to assess the damage on his shirt. Completely unaware of the pretty red blush that crawled its way across Leorio’s face, she traced the stain on his shirt with her fingertips. “It bled through the fabric, too.” 

“Woah, Woah! Hey!” Leorio hastily stopped Kurapika by holding her two wrists. His face was a hot mess, his heart pounding against his chest. What was going on? Swallowing his growing panic, Leorio’s perverted mind jumped into unconventional assumptions, despite their circumstances. “Wait, we can’t take that risk in here. W-wouldn't it be best to wait until we get to your place?”

“What? Why would we—?” but Kurapika cut herself short, startled by Leorio’s implications. The color on her cheeks darkened (made obvious by her naturally pale skin tone), she cleared her throat and licked her lips. “I can assure you those were not my intentions in the slightest, Leorio.”

Ah, he could see it in those gray-charcoal eyes; he had made Kurapika uncomfortable.

“I came to help after you to help and remove that stain from your shirt. Now, if you allow me…”

Kurapika pulled her hands away from Leorio's grip and went back to the bottle on the sink. She poured club soda over the stain and then spread salt (where the fuck did that saltshaker come from?!) over the mark. The bathroom door opened and the old man from before returned along with another man in a suit (probably the restaurant’s manager), before either could say anything, both men froze before the curious scene.

“T-this is not what it looks like! This nice lady was just trying to help me!” Leorio spoke so fast that he almost ran out of breath. “She'll be out in just a moment, I promise!” 

He tried to turn Kurapika on her heels on a full retreat out of the bathroom, but she planted her feet firmly on the white tile and did not bulge. Leorio had no choice but to look down and regretted it almost immediately when he saw the look on her face.

There was an indecipherable expression on Kurapika's face, one that sent shivers down Leorio´s spine. There was this sudden shift in the atmosphere; Leorio felt nervous for reasons he couldn’t grasp while Kurapika looked back at him as if someone had just slapped her across the face. “Lady?” she repeated, and there was indisputable disbelief in the tone in which Kurapika delivered that question. “Did you just call me a _lady_?”

“I think we should better leave them alone,” the manager said, taking the old man by his shoulders and pushing him out of sight; it was as if the suited man anticipated the bomb that was about to explode.

“W-well, of course. Why shouldn’t I?” Leorio paused briefly, distrusting his own voice. “Or would you rather be called miss?”

Kurapika’s eyebrows trembled along with her quivering lip and her teeth chattered from equal parts shock and disbelief. She forced herself to swallow the bitterness in her palate, but it was like trying to swallow back bile: the more she tried, the worse the upshot was. After taking two steps back, she pressed a hand against her forehead to assess her reality. "This is—! I can’t believe it.”

It was at that moment when Leorio understood that something in Kurapika’s reaction wasn’t right. Had he missed something in their conversation? A fugitive clue, an unexpected twist, or an unconventional reality? Perhaps, he had. “Hey, Kura,” Leorio gulped. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Did you ask me out just because you thought I was a woman?”

Leorio blinked as if he had been abruptly awakened from a nightmare, when in fact he was in front of Kurapika with a question he didn't know how to answer. No, perhaps the answer was clear and evident in those pleading eyes where Leorio saw his dreams crumble.

And it hit him: the laughing, the stares, the gossip, all the finger-pointing going on around them. Leorio ran over the events of the past few weeks in his head and began to question how he didn't see it coming. It was his turn to take a step back, and a disgruntled grimace wrinkled his face. Suddenly, Ging’s stupid words made sense.

“A-are you a dude?!”

Something inside Kurapika shifted, something snapped. Her... no, his nostrils flared as the corners of his lips dropped. Still, his eyes remained fixed on Leorios's. “Do I have to spell it out for you?” Kurapika asked, his back was arrow-straight, and as he lifted his chin in challenge. “I thought you were old enough not to get carried away by the appearances of others.”

Leorio blinked once, blinked twice. He felt the weight of the world upon his shoulders, crushing his now wounded ego. Kurapika wasn't the girl of his dreams.

_Shit._

Kurapika was a man!

“Are you kidding me?” Leorio finally snapped, there was no mistaking the venom in his voice. “Have you seen yourself in the mirror?! You look nothing like a man!”

“Do not raise your voice to me,” Kurapika demanded firmly. “I am warning you, Leorio.”

“It’s Mr. Leorio to you! And stop acting so dignified, femboy!” scowling, Leorio bite out. “You are too damn feminine to be a threat, let alone to be taken seriously, sweetheart! Go count your split ends, do your nails, work on your skincare routine, or whatever, I don’t care! I have no business with someone like you!” When his brain finally caught up to his mouth, Leorio winced. That was uncalled for.

That wasn’t…

Shoot! He… he didn’t mean that. Any of it. His wounded ego had spoken for him, leading him to say words he already regretted. Leorio gaped his mouth like fish out of the water and died a little bit when he saw the look in Kurapika’s face. The things he would give to take his harsh words back.

All the clever things Kurapika wanted to say died in his throat, he opened his mouth but no words came out. His lips began trembling and Kurapika tightened his mouth into a grim line, not wanting to disclose the pain that Leorio’s words had inflicted in him. Only a blind man would miss how the hurt in his eyes and the hope fading away under those long blond lashes.

“The version of me that you created in your head is not my responsibility,” the blond delivered through gritted teeth. “You're an insufferable asshole, PaladiKnight.” The shame was suffocating and the humiliation was hard to bear. Kurapika abruptly turned on his heels and slammed the door on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gods, we all know Leorio is a handsome man, but he surely never thinks before he talks. What do you think will happen now that Leorio knows the truth about Kurapika? Will Kurapika ever forgive him?
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments. I really like talking with you guys!  
> See you soon!!


	4. Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and talk Leopika to me :D  
> Instagram: Lenpepper  
> Twitter: Ohmymackerel
> 
> My Kurapika Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CDgTaptRA8kcsZWRCDLBW?si=wHf-CYoATLuVFxnz7WYy-g

HIS DAMN CELL phone would not stop buzzing on his desk, which was starting to get annoying as Ging didn't seem to understand what all those numbers that were piling up in the corner of his Instagram icon meant.

He wanted to be one step ahead, join the social media hype with this platform, so took several pictures of himself on his way to Gon’s school earlier that day. Since he was starving (that stupid double cheeseburger he had for lunch hadn't been enough!) and had heard about the magic behind using hashtags, Ging to be an intellectual folk and use one as a caption in his second post. What he did not expect was to find such an aggressive response in such a short time.  
  


♥ 488 likes  
 **holesomedaddy** #hungry  
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“This is ridiculous,” Ging murmured to himself hours later, standing in his kitchen as he scanned each and every single comment that now flooded his notification screen. “This is why children are so addicted to this darn device! There are all kinds of stupid and impressionable people who are full of shit! Dang, that’s not even my best angle!”

“If you take any longer, I'll just go ahead and start the movie without you, dad,” Gon warned as he walked into the kitchen, stopping at the sight of his father lost on his cell phone’s screen; a rare sight to see! Tiptoeing his way behind the unsuspecting adult, Gon managed to peek over Ging’s shoulder. “What are you looking at?” 

“Ah, Gon!” Ging was startled, he had been so focused reading all those comments where strangers were offering to satisfy his hunger (well, it seemed that Instagram was certainly full of kind and supportive people, after all) that he hadn't heard Gon walk into the room. Ging laughed proudly, turning on his heels just to meet with his son’s confused gaze. “I forgot to share this with you: Leorio made me an Instagram account the other day and there are so many fellas out there wanting to be my children. Crazy, isn’t it?”

“Children?” Gon blinked in confusion. That didn't make that much sense, but it somehow managed to get under his skin. What the heck was his father doing befriending random kids online? Also, what did this mean to him? Would he also have to fight other children for a little of his father's attention? That thought made him feel slightly uneasy. Gon jealousy wrapped his arms around his father’s waist. “Why are you engaging with them, aren’t I enough?”

“Of course you are,” Ging returned the gesture, hugging his son tightly against his chest. “You are the only son I need. These random kids can do nothing but be jealous of the sidelines– you’re the only kid that matters to me.”

Gon thought for a moment but then smiled in agreement. That was good to hear, he was already exhausted with their current housing situation: living with his mother during the week and seeing his father on weekends, balancing his responsibilities in each household and his new school, plus trying to understand his feelings around that silver-haired kid in his class. Now, realizing that he might have to fight against those more kids, teens, or whatever that were trying to steal his father’s affection was kinda overwhelming. 

“Did you join Instagram because of me?” the affectionate boy rested his chin against Ging's chest, giving him a toothy smile.

“Of course! I wanted to be up-to-date with technology so you don’t end up thinking I'm a boring old man.” Ging laughed just to hide his biggest fear. “Why don't you follow me later and teach me how to send direct messages, too?”

“Yes!” Gon sang happily in his father’s arms. The buzzer to Ging’s apartment went off just before the kid could say another word and the two Freecss looked back at each other in honest confusion.

“It’s that our pizza?” Ging broke away from his son’s grip and glanced back at his clock on the wall. Strange, it hadn't even been twenty minutes since he'd placed his order. He left Gon back in the kitchen, crossed his small living room just to swing his front door open.

“You knew!” Leorio accused with a snarl, forcing his way into the apartment uninvited. He turned on his heels, pointed at Ging, and shouted enough for the entire complex to hear: “I trusted you, man! You knew all along and you still let me make a fool of myself! Why didn't you tell me?!”

“I-idiot, keep your voice down!” Ging hurried to close the door and whipped around to face him angrily. “Are you serious?! I just moved into this stupid building and I'm not ready yet for my new neighbors to think I’m conducting bizarre experiments over here! Now, if you could please be more specific. What the hell is going on?!”

“Kurapika! That’s what’s going on! She's a—! Fuck! He’s a he! He was never a she! He’s a man! A dude! A dude with a penis, darn it! And you—! Everybody in the office—!” Leorio let himself fall on Ging’s couch; voice now muffled by his hands over his face. “Argh, I need you to kill me. This is so embarrassing.”

“Oh, that’s it?” Ging crossed his arms and sighed in some sort of relief. It took him a couple of seconds to take it all and then asked: “So you're not gay?”

“Of course not!” Leorio stood up, grabbing Ging by the collar of his shirt and shaking him vigorously. “Did you think I was fucking gay?! Look at me! I'm the straightest man in the whole damn universe! Knock knock! Who's there? Not me! This man ain't gay! No sir!” Gon peeked out from the kitchen, curious by Leorio’s constant screaming. “I like big boobs, small hips, and wet—!”

“Gon!” Ging clapped his hand over Leorio’s mouth, shutting the taller man instantly with a glare. “Go fetch a beer for Leorio, will ya? He could use a drink.”

“I could use some serious help,” Leorio muttered more to himself just after wrestling Ging’s hand off his lips.

Nodding, the boy disappeared back into the kitchen and gave both adults a few more minutes of privacy. Leorio pushed Gring angrily and said: “You played me dirty! How dare you?! I am like a son to you!”

“You are the dumbest son I could’ve asked for! And don't throw the blame on me when it was you who assumed everything from the very beginning!” Ging shook his accusing finger in Leorio's face. “Although, I don't know what I was thinking. You are as dense as Whale Island fog! You’re as blind as you are foolish! I can’t believe you didn’t notice it!”

“Notice what?!” Leorio flung his hands in the air, exasperated. “You gotta be kidding me! That androgynous punk, with his well-groomed hair, pretty eyelashes, and marked waist! Shit, even his laughter is cute and perfect! And he fooled me!”

“Here's your drink, Leo,” Gon interrupted after taking a seat next to Leorio and handing him a beer.

“And what happened to everything you felt for him, then?” Ging pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly. He grabbed a chair from the table and slid it toward the conversation, taking a seat. “Did it all magically disappear when you find out he wasn’t what you wanted him to be?”

“What I wanted him to be?!” Leorio parroted, eyebrows scrunching. “He lied to me!”

“I call bullshit. Did he ever say verbally that he was a woman?”

“No, but that’s just as bad! He could at least say something!”

“Your logic is a fucking joke. Please don’t use it ever again,” and before Leorio could take the first sip of his beer, Ging reluctantly snatched it away from him. “You are so dramatic, I feel bad for the kid.”

“What about me?!” Leorio snatched the can back and clutched it to his chest. “I got tricked into going on a date with another guy! Who’s going to cover the bill for my therapy sessions now that I have trust issues?”

“Is it that bad?” Gon interrupted suddenly. Both Ging and Leorio turned to him; they had entirely forgotten about Gon. “Is it wrong to date another man?”

“No, it isn’t. It is just... well,” Ging scratched at the back of his neck, embarrassed. He’d not been expecting to have this conversation today. “People can fall in love and want to be in a relationship with people of their same gender, that’s completely normal.”

Leorio bit the inside of his cheek, reprehending himself mentally— the last thing he needed was for his favorite kid in the entire world to think he was a homophobic asshole of some sort. “Yeah, that’s… uh,” he cleared his throat, keeping his voice low. “Didn't mean to confuse you there. Guys liking and dating each other is, er… cool, alright? Sorry, kiddo. This whole situation caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“Then why are you so mad? If this was just a misunderstanding, why take it out on him?” Gon asked, tipping his head to the side, confused. “He clearly likes you and you must’ve liked him as well to some extent since it was you who asked him out. If dating him is not what you want, then maybe you two could still be very good friends. It’s never too late to try.”

“Ging, get this kid a freaking talk show or something,” Leorio groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. “Why am I being lectured by a twelve-year-old?”

“Because we all know you aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed,” Ging laughed out loud; the look Leorio sent him was filled with a maddened kind of annoyance. He stood up, hands on his hips before adding: “C’mon, don’t look at me like that. No matter what you want to do after this mess, we’ll support you regardless. But maybe you should consider talking to Kurapika first, I highly doubt he did this on purpose.”

Leorio sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. “I really doubt he wants to talk to me ever again, I said some pretty nasty thing back there.”

“Then you should probably get ready for the drama that will come with the accounting department,” Ging teased in an exasperated tone. “That’s why they always say don't shit where you eat, but you always do whatever the hell you want.”

“Holy shit, you are right!” Leorio bowed his head, burying his face in his hands. “Monday is going to suck the life right out of me. Can I take the rest of the year off now?”

Ging rolled his eyes and before he could comment on Leorio’s dramatic behavior, the buzzer on the door rang as their delivery arrived. “Finally, the pizza is here! I’m starving!” The man hurried up towards the door.

“Did I interrupt something important?” Leorio asked Gon.

“Not really, we were about to start watching a movie right when you arrived,” Gon replied cheerfully.

"Alright," Ging closed the door with his foot and laid three pizza boxes on the coffee table before Leorio. He took a slice out and shoved it into his mouth, humming in delight. “You are more than welcome to stay for dinner, Leorio, but the leftovers will stay in my fridge. No excuses.”

“Um," Leorio glanced back at Gon just to notice how his smile didn’t reach his eyes. Right, Gon only visited on the weekends. He shouldn’t overstay his welcome. Leorio cleared his throat. “No, that’s alright. I should probably get going.”

“Bah, you are such a killjoy,” Ging snorted and sank onto his shoulders. “Whatever, your loss. Right, Gon?”

“Yes, dad,” The boy supported with a bright smile.

“Well, some of us have to pick up the slack for the work that wasn’t completed by some lazy bastard,” Leorio defended himself as he stood up. “I’ll see you around, Gon,” and ruffled the boy’s hair before heading towards the door.

“Yeah, yeah. See you on Monday, then,” Ging waved his hand dismissively, taking another big bite of his pizza slice.

“Dad, come on, let’s start the movie already!” Gon urged from the living room as Leorio stepped outside, letting the door swing shut behind him.

THE NIGHT SKY was painted with stars, twinkling brightly against YorkShin’s dark canvas. In a small apartment (too simple and far from luxurious), Leorio lay in bed, on his side and staring at the pixels of his iPhone 12. The diffused yellow light from the streetlight was streaming through a two-inch gap in the drawn curtains of the room, filling the place with depressing darkness broken only by the brightness of this phone illuminating his face. A portable heater plugged in next to his bed was his only company for the night, and the ashtray full of half-smoked cigarettes on his nightstand was evidence of his desperate attempt to clear up his mind.

Leorio took a deep breath, inhaling his anxiety just to exhale some courage. He opened his messages, selected his conversation with Kurapika, and read the messages they had exchanged earlier that day. Gon’s words echoed once more in his head and Leorio knew he had to do something to fix this disaster. He started typing a text but didn’t have a clue on how to express himself entirely and deleted the whole thing almost immediately. 

He tried again, again and again. Nothing. Leorio let an exasperated sigh escape his lips. He had no idea what to say; after all, he knew he had hurt Kurapika. So, he tried again.

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:22 pm]  
** I don't know what kind of witchcraft you used, but you managed to get rid of the stain on my shirt!

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:22 pm]  
** Thanks, man!

Leorio's face twisted with displeasure; that message had come out a little too formal (and, ugh… it had felt so weird to call Kurapika a man). Well, that was better than sending nothing at all, he guessed. He was getting more anxious as the minutes ticked and his messages remained on _Delivered_ instead of _Read_. Was it too late? Maybe she was already asleep. Shoot, he. He. _He!_ Leorio groaned and rolled over the mattress and laid on his back. It was still hard for him to get used to the idea that Kurapika was, undoubtedly, a man.

A man.

How had Leorio been so blind? So stupid.

Leorio’s brow furrowed and placed his forearm over his eyes. He was sure as fuck that he didn’t want to go back to the office after that day’s disaster. Now that strange fixation from his co-workers over their date made sense, especially when people he had never spoken to started stopping him in the hall just to ask about Kurapika. And so he became GreedStyle’s walking joke and he had no idea. 

Had they been pestering Kurapika as well? Kurapika never said anything about it, but… well, Leorio hadn’t asked him, either.

Leorio uncovered his face and stared up at the ceiling. He reviewed their last week together under a different light: each word exchanged, each look, and every gesture between him and Kurapika. The memory of how Kurapika's face lit up when they held hands in the restaurant stood up from the rest almost immediately. At that very moment, Leorio realized he had fucked up big time. 

Kurapika interpreted each of Leorio’s actions in an entirely different context; Leorio has been so reckless. But could they really blame him? At first glance, anyone could make that mistake! Especially because of Kurapika’s delicate features and that beautiful golden hair that brushed his shoulders. Leorio was sure that he was neither the first nor the last to make such a mistake. Either way, the fact that the feelings he developed towards the blond were still present (even after learning the truth behind his gender) unleashed more than a simple confusion inside his giddy head. Yes, there was this little detail at risk; a detail called _heterosexuality_.

Wanting to distract himself and to leave his logic for later, Leorio unlocked his phone again but arched an eyebrow at his screen when he noticed that Kurapika hadn't read his messages yet. Worried, he tried again.

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:41 pm]  
** Hey

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:42 pm]  
** Those things that I said to you were really out of line. ****

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:42 pm]  
** My bad.

As the minutes went by and Kurapika failed to reply, the panic crept like sharp needles into Leorio’s veins. The memory of those gray eyes flashed in front of his, those eyes that burned like ice when he saw them last: so full of sadness, loaded with pain. His impatience turned to irritation and led him to send more texts.  
  


 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:48 pm]  
** Are you getting my messages or just straight up ignoring me???

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:49 pm]  
** Seriously????????

Just as he began typing another rant, Kurapika's status changed to _online_ and all the messages he sent earlier were simultaneously marked as _read_. His hands froze, the whole world stopped just to hold its breath by Leorio’s side. For what seemed like an eternity, he waited in silence. 

A minute went by, then two and Kurapika's profile picture disappeared and he went offline. The shock was so great that Leorio sat right up. “What the—?” Leorio didn’t have the luxury to express his confusion because he was abruptly tackled by the indignation of his pride. “Are you seriously ghosting me right now?!”

It had been an honest confusion! 

“That entitled punk,” Leorio scowled at his phone, pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to control the annoyance bubbling inside of him, and ran his hand through his thick black hair. No, this was not the right time to victimize himself. Kurapika seemed like a very fair, reasonable guy to deal with. Maybe if he kept insisting, then…

 **Leorio PaladiKnight [9:52 pm]  
** Can we talk about this? On Monday, maybe? 

Something unusual caught Leorio’s eye this time, the _delivered_ badge didn’t appear below this last message. Leorio tilted his head back and carefully examined his screen. He tried again but the same message appeared over and over again. What the heck was going on?! With a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, Leorio felt the need to try a different approach.

He did not care that it was almost ten o'clock in the evening, nor did he care if Kurapika was so deliberately ignoring him; Leorio held his phone to his ear and tried to call him but when his call went directly to voicemail, he finally understood the gravity of their situation: Kurapika had blocked his number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that at least someone has noticed that there’s something wrong with Ging’s Instagram username (Ging definitely hasn’t, lol). Anyway, this is Leorio’s side of the aftermath… which means that we will see Kurapika’s in the following chapter. Things are about to get even more interesting ;) I am… starting to suspect this story will be way more than 10 chapters long, lol. Oh well…
> 
> By the way, I have no beta D:… my first language is Spanish and writing in English is kinda… challenging at times x’D But I do try my very best! If someone wants to be my beta-reader… I would really appreciate it!
> 
> See you all soon! Thanks for your kudos and support <3


	5. Demons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and talk Leopika to me :D  
> Instagram: Lenpepper  
> Twitter: Ohmymackerel
> 
> My Kurapika Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CDgTaptRA8kcsZWRCDLBW?si=wHf-CYoATLuVFxnz7WYy-g

KURAPIKA WOKE UP to the torrential downpour pattered against his window. He popped his head out of the covers lazily and peeked over his shoulder to find the grim scene outside his apartment. Oh, that’s right, it had started raining heavily at some point during the night. He lost his gaze on raindrops falling slowly down his window as the rest of his body awakened from sleep.

Saturday. It was already Saturday morning and his horrific Friday was finally over. Kurapika wrapped his arms around himself self-consciously, chin pressed to his chest as he tried to contain the waves of insecurity flowing through his body. He didn't want to leave this bed nor his apartment ever again. Leaving his soft bed meant walking again, using his feet still sore from walking from the restaurant to his place the night before. It also meant that sooner than later he would have to go back to GreedStyle, face Leorio and the shame that had managed to render him immobile to that bed.

Lady.

Femboy…

Was that all he really was? An effeminate. A failed attempt of a woman? Kurapika wanted to disappear, to close his eyes so hard that neither time nor space had a choice but to return him to the past. He wanted to go back to Pariston Hill and turn down that job offer that had condemned him to this reality. How was he supposed to look at Leorio after this? How was he supposed to face the rest of the world from now on?

At what point had it happened? How did he not realize it before? The days they had spent together, the laughter and the constant texting back and forth; they had all been too perfect to be true. Were these memories now meaningless to Leorio now that he knew that he had shared them with a man? It had all been a lie, then. His gender had condemned him once more to live in a false reality, one that was never meant to be his.

His thoughts kept going back to Leorio, grieving what he thought they could have and will now never be. Why? How? Now what? The questions just kept piling upon his shoulders, saturating his head with an intense amount of guilt. He was so tired, so fed up with these negative thoughts that had chained him down for months. 

No, he needed to stop thinking. 

Kurapika needed to get out of this bed.

Kurapika sat up so suddenly that the brown cat still dozing by his legs meowed back at him, somewhat offended. The blond smiled once he remembered who he was still sharing his bed with. “I’m sorry, Pairo,” his voice, hoarse and tired, came out in a raspy whisper. He picked the cat up to set him in his lap and pressed a soft kiss between his pointy ears. “I know you have never been a morning cat.”

The cat purred against his owner’s fingertips —content with the attention he was getting so early in the day— and nestled himself among the pillows where Kurapika laid him next. A silence barely broken by the torrents of rain that beat against his window plunged Kurapika back into his head, back to the darkness of his thoughts, grudges, and remorse. Maybe the pills in his nightstand kept him sane, maybe he was alone with no friends and no family to lean on, but it was the comfort in Pairo’s amber eyes what kept him alive and that… that was enough. For him, it was enough.

When he got his slippers on, Kurapika walked out of his room straight to the kitchen. He pulled the kettle from the cupboard and began boiling water, ready to prepare some tea. As he waited, He took a seat in the coach, picked the remote up off the coffee table, and turned the TV on. Kurapika went straight to the Netflix app, stopping dead in his tracks when an unexpected message popped across his screen.

 **Please log in again.  
** _You have been logged out of this device because the information on your account has recently changed._

Kurapika stared incredulously at his screen, blinking in his confusion before he finally got it. He tried again, reentering his data again into the app just to find out his password was no longer working. He rose from his seat like a rocketing pheasant, alarmed. Something wasn’t right anymore. 

The tangled mess inside his head came to a sudden halt when a possible explanation stood up from the rest. Kurapika’s expression shifted; it darkened and flickered into pained anger. As his eyebrow furrowed, he fisted his hand and knocked hard on the wall (right next to where his TV hung), several times until the side of his hand ached.

When he opened the sliding door to his balcony, cold air greeted him to chill his cheeks, tousling his blond hair as he stepped out. Kurapika was lucky enough to have a covered balcony, sheltered from the heavy rain as he waited. He stood there by the railing with his arms crossed, impatiently tapping a finger against his biceps until the sliding door of the neighboring balcony was slid open and a visitor stepped out to join him out there.

“I find it quite nostalgic and somewhat comforting to hear you calling me out to the balcony like the old days,” a tall man of grey eyes and slicked-back black hair (just a couple of loose strands hung gracefully over his forehead) leaned his elbows against the railing between them and flashed a charismatic smile at the blond. “It's nice to see you again, _Pika_.”

“Did you change my Netflix password again, Kuroro?” Kurapika asked sternly. 

Kuroro Lucilfer was a man in his late twenties, a very influential YouTuber, a Vlogger, and the streamer with most subs on Twitch was known online by his large fanbase as _Chrollo_. With such a compromising future in the Entertainment Industry, the most intriguing aspect of his work was the past that he once shared with Kurapika.

Kuroro raised his eyebrows, although his calm demeanor didn’t disappear despite the obvious hostility of his neighbor. “I don't remember agreeing that you would keep our Netflix account,” he confessed with an overwhelmingly magnetic smile on his lips as he spoke.

"It is under my name."

“But we used my email address to set it up, right?”

“That doesn’t matter, I pay for it!” 

Kuroro could see the distrust in Kurapika’s gaze, hear the irritation in his voice as he spoke. One year and Kuroro could still get under Kurapika’s skin. A rare excitement ran through his veins, making him shiver.

“That is a very nice gesture from you, although you and I both know that money had never been a major concern for me,” Kuroro said casually, strong winds messing with his dark hair. Kurapika tried to speak up, but the influencer interrupted him. “But if you want the password so badly, you could unblock my phone and come over. I’m streaming right now, our followers would love to see you again.”

“Did you tell them already?” The blond asked as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. "That I’m a man and that we’re no longer together because you are an abusive and manipulative bastard?”

"It hasn't been necessary," Kuroro shrugged. “Besides, why would I tell them that we are no longer together when you could change your mind later? But tell me, did you finally get that office job you wanted?”

Kurapika hesitated. He found that last question to be a tad intrusive, under their circumstances. “How do you know that?”

“Just curious,” Kuroro said, and Kurapika wasn't entirely sure he believed him. “You've been leaving early mornings and coming home late at night. I put two and two together, that’s all.”

“Instead of keeping an eye on me, try spending your free time looking for a new apartment. Move out of this complex and leave me the hell alone,” Kurapika demanded, fighting with himself in an attempt to keep his face neutral.

Kuroro chuckled. “For someone with so many sleeping issues, you sure have a lot of energy this early in the morning,” he pointed out, an amused smile playing across his lips. “Look Pika, let’s call it even; I'll reset the password back to the one before so we can both go on with our day. Would you like that?”

The blond went silent for a long moment as he debated on how to react to that, torn between confusion and disbelief. Kuroro was up to something, but then again, he was always up to something. 

"That’s—," Kurapika paused, alarmed by the high-pitched tone of the voice that left him. He straightened himself out keeping his expression carefully blank before he spoke again. “Yes, that’s all I wanted from you.”

The silence between them stretched out, punctuated with the patter of the rain pouring over the city. Kuroro didn’t seem bothered by it at all, on the contrary, he enjoyed the uncomfortable tension on Kurapika’s shoulders. 

“Anything else I can do for you, Pika? A cup of tea, perhaps?” Kuroro seemed thrilled by his own cynicism.

“First of all, stop calling me that. Lastly, I'd rather pluck my eyelashes out one by one than waste another second next to you,” He narrowed his eyes slightly, arms folded across his chest. “I'm not going to hold you any longer. Go back to your stream, your viewers are waiting.”

“For you I'd leave them waiting for even longer if you asked me to,” Kuroro let his hand reach across the railing, all the way to Kurapika's left ear, giving his delicate earring a soft pull. “Gorgeous. I've always thought those accessories like this suit you very well.”

A simple touch and Kurapika lost it all. He felt exposed under Kuroro’s gaze, disarmed. Those dark eyes knew how to make deadly weapons, how to burn. Kurapika shivered slightly and Kuroro knew he had him. Bad, bad ... this was bad!

“Don’t touch me!” Kurapika hissed and batted his hand away, gray eyes ablaze with anger. “Don't you dare to lay another finger back on me, or you'll be sorry for it!”

“I’m just being honest with you, Pika,” Kuroro said. “You’re so beautiful, even with that feisty personality of yours. So feminine, so fragile...”

“Be quiet!” Kurapika exclaimed, louder than he meant to. “If you like those qualities that much, you should look for them in a real woman and leave me out of this! Forget Pika! She never existed!”

Kuroro was not surprised with how little it took for Kurapika to explode in fury and it seemed to be exactly what he’d wanted all along. He found the most sensitive nerve in the blond’s spine and injected his poison through Kurapika’s never-ending insecurities. Oh, how he loved to see him break, to pull him apart piece by piece. He knew Kurapika like the back of his hand, knew all his hiding spots. Kuroro aimed directly at Kurapika's deepest hurt.

“You're a—! You—!” Kurapika felt a lurch and a sickening feeling in his stomach and for a moment he thought that the floor beneath his feet began to shake. The months apart had taken tolls; he forgot how being in proximity to Kuroro was like facing a black hole, one that could swallow him along with the entire universe in one bite. He took a step back, vowing never to fall into that hole ever again. “I hate you, Lucilfer.” 

Bringing the show to an abrupt end, he turned on his heels and fled the scene. Back inside, Kurapika didn't have time to rearrange his scribbled thoughts, nor to force himself out of his misery. As he slammed the sliding door shut, Kurapika ran into Pairo lurking at his feet. He almost stepped on the cat.

“Pairo!” Kurapika dropped to his knees, picking the cat up instantly. "What were you—? Were you trying to run away?” 

Pairo growled in Kurapika's arms, squirming in a desperate attempt to free himself and jump off. Kurapika struggled to keep the cat still, especially now that Pairo began to panic, and the boy tripped and slammed his back against the nearest wall. 

“No, wait—! Pairo!” he clung to the cat, feeling like the world around him was withering up and dying, so he closed his eyes. He was so afraid of letting him go, of losing Pairo and being alone. Because that was Kurapika’s reality: without his cat, he had no one to turn to. His entire life ran in a rut. Alone. He was so alone. The memory of Kuroro’s dark gaze still lingered like a disease —burned into his gut—, it choked him and blurred his thoughts into a time-elapsed picture. Running out of air, he tightened his arms even more around Pairo and the cat hissed in response.

Pairo cat scratched his face twice and jumped out of his arms, running to hide under the sofa. Kurapika fell back on the floor with a yelp and winced in pain. When he finally opened his eyes, he met his reflection in a mirror that hung on the wall across from where he sat. Even from the distance, he noticed how the scrapes on his cheek began to redden almost immediately. There was no point in scolding the cat, Kurapika knew very well this was all his fault.

Kurapika managed to stand back up and walked over to the mirror to take a closer look at his wounds. He winced as he traced the edge with the tip of his fingers, yet his hands unexpectedly detoured to his golden hair. No one was there to witness how those gray eyes began to fade as sadness and self-destructive thoughts began to fill his head as they usually did when he was by himself. 

He began twisting golden strands of hair between his fingers, pulling from them gently in a gesture that hinted he was mentally measuring its length before the mirror. Long, long, long. His hair was long. So long. His hair was long like a woman's and the clothes he wore that morning didn’t help his cause, either. Leorio and Kuroro were right: he looked like a woman. Getting angry at them for stating the obvious and bursting his bubble would be mere hypocrisy.

So, had he been living a lie? Kurapika had never clung to any gender stereotypes before and grew his hair out because he liked it better that way. He had never something so minimal could be so damaging and his androgenic face only made matters worse, confusing those as clueless as Leorio could be. His lower lip started trembling and fog of sadness rose through his chest, settling in his throat.

Kuroro and Leorio weren’t the problem. He was the problem. Being mistaken for a woman was all his fault.

“Effeminate,” he whispered with spite, insulting his reflection. “You are a sorry excuse for a man, no one could ever take you seriously looking like this.”

Yes, he could see it now. He did this to himself. Kurapika had set himself up for failure from the very beginning. If only he could dress more like a man, get rid of that stupid earring, or get a haircut. 

Maybe then...

Maybe then he could...

Kurapika's eyes widened as a realization struck him, suddenly. He held his fingers up like scissors and pretended to cut a thick strand of golden hair.

  
  


“SO, ARE YOU going to tell us how your date with Kurapika went last Friday or not?” Laughter broke out among the male designers in the office, curious glances pilling up over Leorio’s shoulders as he sank into his seat, hunched forward and head looking down.

The teasing started very early in the morning, echoing louder and louder around his desk as the day went by. This was ridiculous —utterly humiliating; what for a week he mistook for genuine companionship, now revealed itself to be an insipid mockery. A bitter joke of which he never suspected he was part. They knew it, they had always known! How did he not see it coming, though? Nobody in this office spoke to him before– no one ever did–, but when Kurapika introduced himself a couple of weeks ago, everyone took notice of him after that.

Leorio grunted, face on his hands. Gods, he even suspected that nobody in the office knew his name before. What would he give now to return to that degree of anonymity among his stupid colleagues?

“What's wrong? Why are you not bragging about your beautiful muse anymore?” The designer on the cubicle next to his asked, standing up and knocking three times against the half wall that divided his area from Leorio's. “You wouldn't stop talking about Kurta whenever anybody brought her up. What’s the matter? So, was the sex bad?”

“Would you shut up, man?! All of you, fuck off!” It was the first time that morning Leorio spoke, pointing a shaking finger at everyone who had gathered around his cubicle at some point to watch him snap. None of them flinched to the roar of his voice— quite the opposite; they all seemed quite thrilled to finally get a reaction out of him. “Stop fucking with me! Y’all knew he was a man! Why didn't anybody tell me this shit?!”

"Hey, woah! You need to calm down, dude. We were just messing with you,” a man wearing a fancy tie spoke next. “It was you who assumed that poor boy’s gender, we just tagged along.”

“It was either that or die of boredom in our desks,” another one added.

“Please, you all need to stop pretending that PaladiKnight was the only one who thought that Kurta was too feminine to be a man,” a designer who sat two cubicles away intervened as he stood from his seat just to meet Leorio’s gaze. Everyone's attention fell on him. “It's all Kurta’s fault, anyway. With that pretty blond long hair of his,” he chuckled. “He takes better care of it than any woman I’ve ever known!”

“Have you noticed he’s always wearing an earring on his left ear?”

“And he shows up to work with a Starbucks drink almost every morning!”

“He’s such a basic bitch!”

The laughter surrounding Leorio drowned him out for a moment, anxiety spiking in his stomach as the conversation had taken an unnecessary turn for the worse. He parted his lips in slight shock. Every insult, every joke at Kurapika’s expense left a bitter taste in Leorio’s mouth and an uneasy feeling in his guts. He didn’t like it. This... wasn’t right.

“C’mon, he went out on a date with PaladiKnight! He’s a complete faggot!” 

Leorio stopped breathing.

“I can’t believe this! It’s 2021, you should all be ashamed!” A short girl with huge glasses scolded from the back. “Leave Kurta alone, no one has to come and meet your stupid gender expectations!”

“Exactly!” Another girl added with annoyance. “At least Kurta is nice. He knows how to dress well and doesn’t stare openly at our breasts when we see him in the hall.”

The man sitting behind Leorio’s spot (one who had been strangely quiet until now) clicked his tongue and completely disregarded his female colleagues when he spoke next. “I simply can’t understand why you didn't take advantage of him when you had the chance, PaladiKnight. If I was you, I would have already fucked him,” he blurted out alarmingly calm; the few girls in the office exchanged uncomfortable glances between each other.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Leorio snapped violently, teeth bared. “What the _FUCK_ is your goddammed problem, man?!”

The color drained from this man’s face and the entire office went completely quiet. Leorio huffed irritably, wide-eyed as he looked around. “Let's get this straightened out: I am not gay, and I wouldn't have asked Kurapika out if I’d known he was a man from the start. Now, can y’all go back to your own business and leave me the hell alone?!”

A loud sound to his right made him jump. Leorio turned to find a new package on the other end of his desk and a man whom (at first glance) he did not recognize. He was a young man with short blond hair dressed in a two-piece navy suit, a white collared shirt, and a plain blue tie. Crestfallen, the stranger’s brows were trembling as he refused to take his hands from the package that he had just dropped on Leorio’s desk. All eyes were now on him, yet… nobody seemed to know exactly who he was.

Infected with curiosity, Leorio studied the boy for a long moment. Was it their new delivery person? No, that suit was too fancy for someone stuck in a mailroom. Could he be a new intern? Maybe someone from human resources he hadn’t seen before?

“A package for Mr. Freecss was delivered to our department by mistake, and it seems that he just stepped out for the day,” his voice was an angry whisper; a whirlwind of emotions racing through the young man mercilessly. Leorio noticed how the boy’s hands were shaking from the effort of keeping himself calm. When the stranger straightened up to face him, the hostility behind those clear eyes became so familiar that Leorio took a moment to regain his breathing. That boy was Kurapika. "I figured you could do something productive for once and deliver it yourself."

“K-Kurapika?!” The reflexed failed him, and he almost fell to the ground. What the hell had just happened to him? Where was his long golden hair? His drop earring? The form-fitting suit that highlighted him in all the right places? That beautiful shade of gray behind those blond eyelashes?

Where had his inspiring muse gone?

“Kurta,” he corrected sharply. Their exchange was brief but deadly. Kurapika wasted no time as he turned on his heels and walked away. “Now, please excuse me.”

A bottomless bitter cold pierced Leorio’s chest as he watched him go. The icy attitude with which Kurapika seemed to coat his features —cutting off all traces of their previous friendship —, left Leorio feeling uneasy. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck, suddenly too lost in thoughts to bother noticing the others around him staring. He felt the panic rising; the idea of losing what he built with Kurapika twisted a knot at the bottom of his stomach. Was that what he really wanted? 

What was this feeling, anyway?

KURAPIKA BREATHED UNEVENLY on his way down the hall, keeping his eyes down to avoid anybody who might try to stop him. It seemed that every tile on the floor had been stretched to infinity as he walked by, exposing him to this world he just wanted to disappear from. Everything had happened so fast, so nearly violent, though the events barely registered in the back of his head. What started as a quick visit to the design department, ended with the little piece of sanity he had left at that point.

He stormed into the bathroom —his movements lacking the usual grace—, and inspected his surroundings with big, blurry eyes. There was nobody in there. Nobody around to see him break. The blond closed the door and sighed a little in bittersweet relief, then hurried over to the nearest sink and leaned over it. He licked and bit his lower lip, unable to keep fighting the helplessness that felt bubbling within him. The humiliation sank its fangs into him like a venomous snake, deeper and deeper until his shoulders gave in and began to shake.

How can he have been so wrong about Leorio?! He was a stupid, bigoted man who lived in a twisted reality with unreachable standards. An immature bastard with an inflated ego, someone with fragile masculinity that couldn’t see beyond his own damn nose to realize there was so much more out there to be considered. Leorio was an idiot! A jerk! He was a—!

Damn it. 

Damn it all!

Kurapika wasn't going to cry over that man. There was no way he'd let myself cry. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to regain his composure and collect himself (it felt so strange to have his hair this short). Kurapika didn’t like it, he couldn’t even get used to it. He paid close attention to the boy on the other side of the mirror but could not recognize him. Who was that boy? They shared the same face, the same golden hair, and gray eyes, but why did he feel like a stranger under his skin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it seems that Kurapika’s past is a little more complex than anticipated. I hope his reaction to Leorio’s mistake makes more sense now. I am really happy with the progress I've made with this story the past couple weeks and I can’t wait to share future chapters with you all <3
> 
> In case you are all wondering, the KURAPIKA’S POV playlist I always share at the beginning of each chapter is the playlist I use every time I write about him and it's based on this story’s Kurapika.
> 
> Thanks for your support, comments, and kudos… they motivate me to keep writing! Of course, I love talking to you all. Leopika is my OTP, after all :D See you all soon!


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